President of Kabbles Engineering Inc, Karen Kabbes, speaks at the Engineering Speaker Series on Friday at Nedderman Hall.
Karen Kabbes, president of ASCE Environmental & Water Resources Institute, spoke about adapting sustainable practices for water conservation.
Kabbes, for the College of Engineering Speaker Series, said people must look at how they use and reuse water regarding energy generation.
"Instead of treating water and throwing it away we must look at reusing water in industries for cooling," Kabbes said.
Kabbes said people must also look at reusing water for nonpotable needs, such as irrigation of lawns.
"Unless we take very aggressive measures we will see a decline in the freshwater resources," Kabbes said. "One impact that we can expect is extreme temperatures where the dry areas will get drier and the wet areas will get wetter."
Kabbes said the world has to be very conscious with the water used or their will be a crisis in the coming decades.
Kabbes said doing the right thing the right way is a key issue.
"We should ask ourselves if we are doing the right project and if we are doing the project the right way."
Kabbes said according to the American Society of Civil Engineers 2011 Failure to Act report, the cost to replace and maintain the aging water infrastructure is $125.9 billion.
Kabbes said if this is not done the world will have a serious issue of becoming a global competitor.
Students and faculty gather at a reception during the Engineering Speaker Series on Friday at Neddderman Hall.
Students mingle at the reception before the Engineering Speaker Series on Friday at Neddderman Hall.
Doctoral student Raju Acharya said he was expecting the speaker to talk about sustainable use of freshwater.
"Due to global warming the main sources of freshwater are melting rapdily," Acharya said. "In order to deal with this situation, we must adapt practices for sustainable use of water."
Mechanical engineering junior Caleb Barlow said it's good to have lectures where people see the different dynamics of understanding.
关键词：再生水，污水再生回用，气候变化，水回用，水危机，可持续性用水策略
